CN108290687B

CN108290687B - Storage device and transport system

Info

Publication number: CN108290687B
Application number: CN201680068103.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 伊藤靖久
Original assignee: Murata Machinery Ltd
Current assignee: Murata Machinery Ltd
Priority date: 2016-02-15
Filing date: 2016-12-28
Publication date: 2020-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-28
Also published as: US20190031440A1; JP6566051B2; CN108290687A; TW201730067A; JPWO2017141555A1; WO2017141555A1

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention relates to a storage apparatus including: a pair of storage sections which are disposed to face each other in the front-rear direction and which have a plurality of shelves on which FOUPs having a front-rear width smaller than a left-right width are placed; and a transfer device which is accommodated between the storage units and transfers the FOUP between the shelves of the storage units. In each of the storage units, a plurality of shelves arranged at the same height position are arranged in the left-right direction. The transfer device places the FOUP on each of the plurality of shelves with the front surface of the FOUP facing in the left-right direction.

Description

Storage device and transport system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a storage apparatus and a transport system for storage containers.

Background

Conventionally, a semiconductor transport system is provided with a storage device (stocker) for temporarily storing a container (FOUP) having a Front-to-back width smaller than a left-to-right width, which accommodates semiconductor wafers and the like. As a storage apparatus, a structure is known which includes a pair of front and rear storage units each having a plurality of racks arranged vertically and horizontally (see patent document 1 below).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2003-171003

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The storage apparatus as described above is generally assembled at a delivery destination (a semiconductor manufacturing plant or the like using the storage apparatus), but when an assembly operation is performed at the delivery destination, the operation cost tends to be higher than when an assembly operation is performed at the delivery destination (a manufacturing plant or the like of the storage apparatus). Therefore, it is desirable to be able to carry the storage apparatus assembled at the delivery side to the delivery destination directly or as a minimum number of assembly units. However, in order to enable shipment of the storage apparatus assembled at the shipping site, it is necessary to miniaturize the storage apparatus.

Accordingly, an object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a storage apparatus that can be miniaturized by increasing the storage density of containers, and a transport system including the storage apparatus.

Means for solving the problems

A storage apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a pair of storage units arranged to face each other in the 1 st direction and having a plurality of shelves for storing containers having a front-rear width smaller than a left-right width; and a transfer device which is provided between the pair of storage units and transfers the container between the shelves of the pair of storage units, wherein the plurality of shelves arranged at the same height position in each of the pair of storage units are arranged in a 2 nd direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction, and the transfer device places the container on each of the plurality of shelves with the front surface of the container facing the 2 nd direction.

In the storage apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the containers are placed in the pair of storage units such that the front surfaces of the containers face the arrangement direction of the racks (the 2 nd direction, that is, the longitudinal direction of the storage units). Here, the front-rear width of the container is smaller than the left-right width of the container. Therefore, according to the storage apparatus, the storage density of the containers in the longitudinal direction of each storage unit can be increased as compared with a configuration in which the containers are placed on the racks such that the side surfaces of the containers face the arrangement direction of the racks. As a result, the overall length of the storage apparatus in the longitudinal direction can be shortened, and the storage apparatus can be downsized.

In the storage apparatus, the transfer device may horizontally rotate the container received from the rack of one of the pair of storage units by 180 degrees, and transfer the container to the rack of the other of the pair of storage units. According to this configuration, the distance between the containers placed on the shelves adjacent in the vertical direction can be made relatively small, and therefore the storage density of the containers in the height direction of each storage section can be increased. As a result, the overall length of the storage apparatus in the height direction can be reduced, and the storage apparatus can be downsized.

In the above storage apparatus, each of the pair of storage sections may have a load port accessible by a bridge conveyor that conveys the containers in the 1 st direction, and the load port of one of the storage sections may have a turning mechanism that horizontally turns the container placed on the load port by 180 degrees. When the transfer device horizontally rotates the container by 180 degrees to transfer the container from the rack of one storage unit to the rack of the other storage unit, the orientation of the container placed on the rack of the one storage unit and the orientation of the container placed on the rack of the other storage unit are opposite to each other. On the other hand, the orientation of the container conveyed by the overhead transport vehicle (the orientation of the container with respect to the traveling direction of the overhead transport vehicle) can be predetermined. According to the above configuration, by a simple configuration in which the turning mechanism is provided at the load port of one of the storage units, the orientation of the container placed on the load port of each storage unit (that is, the orientation of the container immediately after the loading and the orientation of the container immediately before the unloading) can be made to coincide with the orientation in which the container can be conveyed by the overhead transport vehicle. As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle traveling in the 1 st direction can be used for loading and unloading at the load port of any of the storage units. Therefore, the efficiency of warehousing and ex-warehouse operation of the containers by the bridge type conveying vehicle can be improved.

In the storage apparatus, the loading port of one of the pair of storage sections may be a loading port for loading, and the loading port of the other of the pair of storage sections may be a loading port for unloading. According to this configuration, the pair of storage sections can be divided into a storage section dedicated for warehousing and a storage section dedicated for delivery. As a result, the containers can be smoothly put in and out of the storage by the overhead traveling vehicle, and the occurrence of clogging in the overhead traveling vehicle can be suppressed.

In the storage apparatus, at least one of the pair of storage units may include: a 1 st loading port for loading or unloading containers by moving the containers in a vertical direction at a predetermined stop position by a bridge transport vehicle that transports the containers; and a 2 nd loading port for moving the container in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction at the predetermined position by the bridge transport vehicle, thereby loading or unloading the container. With this configuration, the loading/unloading operation (i.e., the access to the 1 st load port and the 2 nd load port) performed by the overhead traveling vehicle stopped at the predetermined stop position can be executed as one continuous transfer operation. For example, the overhead transport vehicle can store a container in one of the 1 st load port and the 2 nd load port and then deliver the container from the other of the 1 st load port and the 2 nd load port. As a result, the containers can be smoothly put in and out of the storage by the overhead traveling vehicle, and the occurrence of clogging in the overhead traveling vehicle can be suppressed.

A conveyance system according to an aspect of the present invention includes: the above-mentioned safekeeping device; and a bridge transport vehicle capable of accessing at least one of the pair of storage units and transporting the container in the 1 st direction with the front surface of the container facing the 2 nd direction. In the above-described transport system, for the reasons described above, the overall length of the storage apparatus in the longitudinal direction can be shortened, and the storage apparatus can be downsized. In the above-described transport system, the front surface of the container is directed in the 2 nd direction in both the container transported by the overhead transport vehicle and the container placed in the storage unit. This eliminates the need for a mechanism or the like (for example, a mechanism or the like for horizontally rotating a container placed in the storage section by 90 degrees) necessary when the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle is orthogonal to the direction in which the pair of storage sections face each other. Therefore, according to the transport system in which the overhead transport vehicle and the storage device are arranged as described above, the structure of the storage device can be simplified.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a storage apparatus and a transport system including the storage apparatus can be provided, which can be miniaturized by increasing the storage density of containers.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan sectional view of a storage apparatus according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line III-III of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along line IV-IV of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the storage apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view of the storage apparatus according to embodiment 2.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In the following description, the right side on the paper of fig. 1 is referred to as the front, the left side is referred to as the rear, the upper side is referred to as the right side, and the lower side is referred to as the left side. The direction toward the front side of the drawing sheet in fig. 1 is referred to as an upper direction, and the direction toward the back side of the drawing sheet is referred to as a lower direction.

[ embodiment 1 ]

As shown in fig. 1 to 5, the storage apparatus 1 according to embodiment 1 can accommodate a plurality of FOUPs 90, and the FOUP90 is a container for accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers. The FOUP90 is a carrier used in a semiconductor manufacturing factory of a micro environment system specified in SEMI standards and is used for the purpose of transporting and storing 300mm semiconductor wafers. In the present embodiment, the FOUP90 includes, for example, a main body 91, a door 92, a flange 93, and a pair of

handle portions

94 and 94. The main body 91 is a box-shaped frame for accommodating a semiconductor wafer. An opening for taking out and placing in the semiconductor wafer is provided on the front surface side of the main body 91, and the rear surface side of the main body 91 has a curved shape with an arc in plan view (see fig. 1). The door 92 is a member that closes the opening of the main body 91, and is detachable from the main body 91. Flange 93 is provided on the upper surface of main body 91. The flange portion 93 is a portion gripped by a gripping mechanism 11 of the overhead traveling vehicle 10 described later. The

handle portions

94, 94 are provided on both side surfaces of the main body portion 91. For example, the operator can easily transport the FOUP90 by holding the FOUP90 from the back side of the body 91 and gripping the handle 94 with both hands to lift the FOUP 90. Further, the front-to-back width w1 of FOUP90 is less than the left-to-right width w2 of FOUP 90.

The storage apparatus 1 includes a pair of

storage portions

3A and 3B and a transfer device 4 provided between the

storage portions

3A and 3B in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 2. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the housing 2 includes

side walls

21 and 21 facing each other in the front-rear direction (1 st direction),

side walls

22 and 22 facing each other in the left-right direction (2 nd direction), and a top plate 23 closing the upper surfaces of the side walls 21 and the

side walls

22 and 22. Further, support columns 24 are erected at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction along the side wall portion 21. The housing 2 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by the side walls 21, the side walls 22, and the top plate 23. However, the frame body 2 has a shape in which the

load ports

32A and 32B are opened to the outside so that the FOUP90 can be transferred between the

load ports

32A and 32B and the overhead traveling vehicle 10 (see fig. 3 and 4). In the present embodiment, as an example, the frame 2 is provided with an opening S that opens at least the upper side of the

load ports

32A and 32B so that the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can access the

load ports

32A and 32B from above.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the

housing portions

3A and 3B are disposed along the

side wall portions

21 and 21 so as to face each other in the front-rear direction. The housing portion 3A is disposed along the front side wall portion 21, and the housing portion 3B is disposed along the rear side wall portion 21. Each of the

storage units

3A and 3B has a plurality of shelves 31 on which FOUPs 90 are placed. In each of the

storage units

3A and 3B, a plurality of shelves 31 are arranged in the vertical direction and the lateral direction. That is, the plurality of shelves 31 are provided in multiple stages in the vertical direction. Further, the plurality of shelves 31 arranged at the same height position are arranged in the left-right direction.

On each shelf 31, the FOUP90 is placed with the front surface of the FOUP90 (i.e., the surface on the side where the door 92 is provided to the body 91) facing in the left-right direction. As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, for example, a FOUP90 is placed on the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3A with the front surface of the FOUP90 facing rightward. Further, on the shelf 31 of the storage section 3B, the FOUP90 is placed in a state where the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the left. As described above, the front-to-back width w1 of FOUP90 is less than the left-to-right width w2 of FOUP 90. Therefore, by placing the FOUP90 on the shelf 31 as described above, the storage density of the FOUP90 in the left-right direction of the

storage units

3A and 3B can be increased as compared with the case where the FOUP90 is placed on the shelf 31 so that the side surface of the FOUP90 faces the arrangement direction (i.e., the left-right direction) of the shelf 31. As a result, the overall length of the storage apparatus 1 in the left-right direction can be shortened, and the storage apparatus 1 can be downsized.

In the present embodiment, each shelf 31 is composed of, for example, the 1 st shelf member 31a that supports a part of the front surface side of the bottom surface of the FOUP90, and the 2 nd shelf member 31b that supports a part of the back surface side of the bottom surface of the FOUP 90. The 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31b are attached to the support column 24, respectively.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31b of the shelf 31 constituting the storage section 3A are attached to the left side surface and the right side surface of the pillar 24, respectively. That is, the one shelf 31 of the storage section 3A is constituted by a combination of the 1 st shelf member 31a attached to the one support column 24 and the 2 nd shelf member 31b attached to the one support column 24 on the left side of the one support column 24. On the other hand, the 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31B of the shelf 31 constituting the storage section 3B are attached to the right side surface and the left side surface of the pillar 24, respectively. The one shelf 31 of the storage section 3B is constituted by a combination of the 1 st shelf member 31a attached to the one support column 24 and the 2 nd shelf member 31B attached to the one support column 24 on the right side of the one support column 24. A predetermined space is provided between the 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31b constituting one shelf 31 so that a fork 45a of a transfer device 4 described later can enter and transfer (pick up or unload) a FOUP 90.

The transfer device 4 is a device that transfers FOUP90 between the shelves 31 of the

storage units

3A and 3B. The transfer device 4 places the FOUPs 90 on the plurality of shelves 31 with the front surfaces of the FOUPs 90 facing in the left-right direction by the mechanism described below. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the transfer device 4 includes: a pair of

rails

40, 40 laid between the

housing portions

3A, 3B in the left-right direction; a carriage 41 movable in the left-right direction along the

rails

40, 40; a rotary table 42 provided on the carriage 41; a mast 43 erected on the turntable 42; a lift table 44 installed to be capable of being driven to ascend and descend with respect to the mast 43; and a transfer mechanism 45 attached to the lift table 44. In fig. 2, illustration of a FOUP90 other than the FOUP90 to be transferred is omitted.

The carriage 41 is provided with traveling

wheels

41a and 41 a. The running

wheels

41a, 41a are supported on the rails 40, and the carriage 41 can run along the

rails

40, 40. The transfer device 4 can determine the position of the transfer mechanism 45 in the left-right direction by moving the carriage 41 by a driving mechanism not shown. Specifically, the transfer device 4 can move the transfer mechanism 45 to a position in the left-right direction corresponding to the rack 31 to which the FOUP90 is transferred by the travel control of the cart 41.

The transfer device 4 can determine the position of the transfer mechanism 45 in the vertical direction by vertically moving the lifting table 44 by a drive mechanism, not shown. Specifically, the transfer device 4 can move the transfer mechanism 45 to a position in the vertical direction corresponding to the rack 31 to which the FOUP90 is transferred by controlling the vertical movement of the vertical movement table 44.

The transfer device 4 can horizontally rotate the mast 43 and the lifting/lowering table 44 together with the rotating table 42 by rotating the rotating table 42 by a driving mechanism (not shown), and determine a direction in which the transfer mechanism 45 faces (i.e., a direction in which the transfer mechanism 45 can access). For example, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, when the FOUP90 placed on the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3B is grabbed or the FOUP90 is unloaded to the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3B, the transfer device 4 rotates the rotary table 42 so that the transfer mechanism 45 faces the storage unit 3B by the rotation control of the rotary table 42.

The transfer mechanism 45 is, for example, a robot hand which can be extended and contracted, and a fork 45a is provided at the tip end thereof. The fork 45a can pick up and support the FOUP90 placed on the rack 31 from below. For example, a projection (not shown) projecting upward is provided on the upper surface of the fork 45a, and a hole (not shown) into which the projection can be inserted is provided on the bottom surface of the FOUP 90. That is, the protrusion on the upper surface of the fork 45a is inserted into the hole portion on the bottom surface of the FOUP90, whereby the FOUP90 is positioned at a predetermined position so as not to slip the FOUP90 off the fork 45 a.

The transfer device 4 is configured to horizontally rotate the FOUP90 received from the shelf 31 of one storage unit (for example, the storage unit 3A) by 180 degrees by the above-described mechanism and deliver the FOUP90 to the shelf 31 of the other storage unit (for example, the storage unit 3B). Hereinafter, an example of the transfer operation of the transfer device 4 will be described by taking a case where the transfer device 4 transfers the FOUP90 received from the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3B to the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3A as an example.

First, the transfer device 4 moves the transfer mechanism 45 to the pickup position corresponding to the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3B on which the FOUP90 to be picked is placed by controlling the travel of the carriage 41, controlling the elevation of the elevation table 44, and controlling the rotation of the rotary table 42. Next, the transfer device 4 extends the transfer mechanism 45, and causes the fork 45a to enter below the FOUP90 to be gripped. Next, the transfer device 4 raises the lift table 44 so that the fork 45a passes between the 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31b to pick up the FOUP90 to be picked up. Thereafter, the transfer device 4 retracts the transfer mechanism 45 to take in the FOUP 90.

Next, the transfer device 4 horizontally rotates the rotary table 42 by 180 degrees so that the transfer mechanism 45 faces the storage unit 3A. Thus, FOUP90 on fork 45a is rotated 180 degrees horizontally. That is, in the state before being gripped by the fork 45a (the state of being placed on the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3B), the FOUP90 with the front surface facing to the left is changed to the state with the front surface facing to the right. Subsequently, the transfer device 4 moves the transfer mechanism 45 to the unloading position corresponding to the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3A of the FOUP90 at the transfer destination by the travel control of the carriage 41 and the elevation control of the elevation table 44. Next, the transfer device 4 extends the transfer mechanism 45, and causes the FOUP90 on the fork 45a to enter above the rack 31 at the transfer destination. Next, the transfer device 4 lowers the lift table 44 so that the fork 45a passes between the 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31b constituting the shelf 31. Thus, the FOUP90 is transferred from the fork 45a to the rack 31 at the transfer destination.

Further, when the transfer device 4 transfers the FOUP90 from one shelf 31 to another shelf 31 in the same storage unit (storage unit 3A or storage unit 3B), the orientation of the FOUP90 does not change before and after the transfer because the rotation of the rotary table 42 by 180 degrees is not performed.

According to the rotary transfer device 4, the thickness of the fork 45a can be made relatively small, and as a result, the distance between the FOUPs 90 placed on the shelves 31 adjacent in the vertical direction can be made relatively small. That is, the interval between the shelves 31 adjacent in the vertical direction can be made relatively small. This can increase the storage density of the FOUPs 90 in the height direction of the

storage sections

3A and 3B. As a result, the overall length of the storage apparatus 1 in the height direction can be reduced, and the storage apparatus 1 can be downsized.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, in the transport system 100 including the storage apparatus 1 and the overhead conveyer 10, the rails 50 for the overhead conveyer are laid in the front-rear direction so as to pass above the leftmost column of the columns (5 columns as an example in the present embodiment) of the racks 31 arranged in the left-right direction in the

storage units

3A and 3B, as an example. The rail 50 is laid, for example, near the ceiling of a semiconductor manufacturing plant in which the storage apparatus 1 is installed. The Overhead transport vehicle 10 is, for example, an OHT (Overhead hook Transfer), and travels in one direction (in the present embodiment, a direction from the front side to the rear side, as an example) along the track 50 while being suspended from the track 50. That is, in the present embodiment, the storage section 3A is disposed on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the overhead conveyer vehicle 10, and the storage section 3B is disposed on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the overhead conveyer vehicle 10.

The overhead transport vehicle 10 can access at least one of the pair of

storage units

3A and 3B (in the present embodiment, both of the

storage units

3A and 3B are used as an example) (details will be described later). The overhead conveying vehicle 10 conveys the FOUP90 in the front-rear direction (1 st direction) with the front surface of the FOUP90 facing in the left-right direction (2 nd direction). In the present embodiment, the bridge transport vehicle 10 transports the FOUP90 in a direction from the front side to the rear side with the front surface of the FOUP90 facing the right side, for example.

The overhead conveyer 10 includes: a gripping mechanism 11 capable of gripping the flange portion 93 of the FOUP 90; a lifting mechanism 13 which can lift the holding mechanism 11 by feeding and winding the tape 12 connected to the holding mechanism 11; and a horizontal movement mechanism 14 that can horizontally move the lifting mechanism 13 in a direction (in the present embodiment, the "left-right direction") orthogonal to the traveling direction (in the present embodiment, the "front-rear direction") of the overhead traveling vehicle 10.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, a load port 32A is provided in the uppermost layer of the leftmost column of the storage section 3A (a layer lower than the uppermost layer of the other columns), and the upper side of the load port 32A is opened so that the bridge conveyor 10 can access it. Specifically, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 is stopped above the load port 32A, and the lifting mechanism 13 lifts and lowers the gripping mechanism 11, thereby enabling transfer (unloading or gripping) of the FOUP90 to and from the load port 32A. In the present embodiment, the load port 32A is constituted by the 1 st shelf member 31a and the 2 nd shelf member 31b, as in the other shelves 31 of the storage section 3A, for example.

As shown in fig. 1 and 4, a load port 32B is provided in the uppermost layer of the leftmost column of the storage section 3B (a layer lower than the uppermost layer of the other columns), and the upper side of the load port 32B is opened so that the bridge conveyor 10 can access it. Specifically, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 is stopped above the load port 32B, and the lifting mechanism 13 lifts and lowers the gripping mechanism 11, thereby enabling transfer (unloading or gripping) of the FOUP90 to and from the load port 32B. The load port 32B has a swing mechanism for horizontally swinging the FOUP90 placed on the load port 32B by 180 degrees.

In the present embodiment, the loading port 32B is configured by, for example, a turntable (turning mechanism) 33 that can horizontally turn 180 degrees, and a pair of

support portions

34 and 34 attached to the turntable 33. The

support portions

34, 34 are rectangular parallelepiped members provided at predetermined intervals from each other. The

support portions

34 and 34 extend in the front-rear direction in a normal state (a state in which the FOUP90 can be transferred). Thus, a part of the front surface side and a part of the back surface side of the bottom surface of FOUP90 are supported by

support portions

34, 34. The distance between the

support portions

34 and 34 is set to a size that allows the fork 45a of the transfer device 4 to enter and transfer (pick up or unload) the FOUP 90. The turntable 33 rotates while the FOUP90 is placed on the

support portions

34 and 34, thereby rotating the orientation of the FOUP90 by 180 degrees.

By providing the turntable 33 in the load port 32B, the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32A can be unloaded from the load port 32B, or the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32B can be unloaded from the load port 32A. This case will be specifically described below. In the present embodiment, for example, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 transports the FOUP90 with the front surface of the FOUP90 facing to the right with respect to the traveling direction (the direction from the front side to the rear side).

First, a case will be described in which the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32A is unloaded from the load port 32B. In this case, the FOUP90 is delivered to the load port 32A from the overhead traveling vehicle 10 stopped above the load port 32A, and the FOUP90 is stored in the load port 32A. Immediately after the storage, the FOUP90 placed in the load port 32A is in a state in which the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the right (see fig. 1 and 3).

The FOUP90 stored in the loading port 32A is in a state where the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the left side by the horizontal rotation of the transfer device 4 (the rotation of the rotary table 42) in the transfer process to the storage section 3B by the transfer device 4 (see FOUPs 90 in the rows 2 to 4 from the left side of the storage section 3B in fig. 1). That is, the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32A is in a state facing the opposite side of the direction in which it can be transported by the bridge conveyor 10 (i.e., a state in which the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the left) when it is transferred to the load port 32B for final shipment. Therefore, when the FOUP90 is transferred to the load port 32B by the transfer device 4, the turntable 33 horizontally rotates by 180 degrees. This allows the orientation of the FOUP90 on the load port 32B to be matched with the orientation in which it can be transported by the overhead traveling vehicle 10 (i.e., the state in which the front surface of the FOUP90 is oriented rightward) (see fig. 1 and 4). As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can carry out the unloading of the FOUP90 placed on the load port 32B.

Next, a case will be described in which the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32B is unloaded from the load port 32A. In this case, the FOUP90 is delivered to the load port 32B from the overhead traveling vehicle 10 stopped above the load port 32B, and the FOUP90 is stored in the load port 32B. Immediately after the storage, the FOUP90 placed in the load port 32B is in a state in which the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the right (see fig. 1 and 4).

Here, when the FOUP90 stored in the loading port 32B is not horizontally rotated by 180 degrees, the front surface of the FOUP90 is directed to the left by the horizontal rotation of the transfer device 4 (the rotation operation of the rotary table 42) in the process of transferring the FOUP90 to the storage section 3A by the transfer device 4. That is, the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32B is in a state facing the opposite side of the direction in which it can be transported by the bridge conveyor 10 (i.e., a state in which the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the left) when it is transferred to the load port 32A for final shipment.

Therefore, the turntable 33 horizontally rotates the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32B by 180 degrees. Thus, the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the left side of the FOUP 90. As a result, the FOUP90 is in a state in which the front surface of the FOUP90 faces rightward during the transfer to the storage unit 3A by the transfer device 4. That is, the FOUP90 stored in the load port 32B is directed to be transported by the overhead traveling vehicle 10 when it is transferred to the load port 32A for final shipment. As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can carry out the unloading of the FOUP90 placed on the load port 32A.

As described above, with the simple configuration in which the load port 32B of one of the storage units (the storage unit 3B in this embodiment is an example) includes the turntable 33, the direction of the FOUP90 placed on the

load ports

32A and 32B of the

storage units

3A and 3B (that is, the direction of the FOUP90 immediately after entering the warehouse and the direction of the FOUP90 immediately before leaving the warehouse) can be made to coincide with the direction in which the FOUP can be transported by the bridge conveyor 10. As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can use the

load ports

32A and 32B of either of the

storage sections

3A and 3B for loading or unloading. This can improve the efficiency of the loading and unloading operation of the FOUP90 by the overhead traveling vehicle 10.

Here, one of the

load ports

32A and 32B may be a load port for entering and the other may be a load port for exiting. With this configuration, the

storage units

3A and 3B can be divided into a storage unit dedicated for warehousing and a storage unit dedicated for delivery. As a result, the loading and unloading of the FOUP90 by the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can be smoothly performed, and the occurrence of a jam in the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can be suppressed. For example, the load port 32A of the storage section (in the present embodiment, the storage section 3A) on the upstream side in the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 10 may be a load port for loading, and the load port 32B of the storage section (in the present embodiment, the storage section 3B) on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 10 may be a load port for unloading. In this case, 1 overhead traveling vehicle 10 can carry out both the loading and unloading of the FOUP90 by one continuous traveling operation. Specifically, the 1 overhead traveling vehicle 10 can unload (store) the FOUP90 in the upstream loading port 32A and thereafter pick up (unload) the FOUP90 from the downstream loading port 32B. As a result, the operating efficiency of the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can be improved.

As shown in fig. 5, in the present embodiment, as an example, an opening 22a is provided in a portion of the left side wall portion 22 adjacent to a space on a specific shelf 31A at a predetermined height position in the leftmost column of the storage section 3A, and a shutter 22b is provided to close the opening 22 a. Here, the FOUP90 placed on the shelf 31A is in a state in which the front surface faces rightward. Therefore, the operator can access the FOUP90 placed on the shelf 31A by opening the shutter 22b (sliding rearward in the present embodiment, for example). The operator can easily take out the FOUP90 by holding the FOUP90 from the back side and gripping the pair of handle portions 94 with both hands. When the operator stores the FOUP90 in the shelf 31A, the operator can easily store the FOUP90 in the shelf 31A by the reverse operation to the operation when taking out the FOUP 90. In this way, in the storage apparatus 1, since the front surface of the FOUP90 is placed on the shelf 31 so as to face the left-right direction, the operator can easily take out and put in the manual loading port of the FOUP90 by the simple configuration in which the opening 22a is provided in the side wall portion 22. Specifically, a manual loading port capable of taking out and putting in the FOUP90 from and to the end of the storage apparatus 1 can be configured without providing a mechanism or the like for changing the orientation of the FOUP90 in the storage apparatus 1.

In the storage apparatus 1 described above, the FOUPs 90 are placed in the

storage units

3A and 3B such that the front surfaces of the FOUPs 90 face the arrangement direction of the racks 31 (i.e., the longitudinal direction of the

storage units

3A and 3B). Here, the front-to-back width w1 of FOUP90 is smaller than the left-to-right width w2 of FOUP 90. Therefore, according to the storage apparatus, the storage density of the FOUPs 90 in the longitudinal direction of the

storage units

3A and 3B can be increased as compared with a configuration in which the FOUPs 90 are placed on the shelf 31 such that the side surfaces of the FOUPs 90 face the arrangement direction of the shelf 31. As a result, the overall length of the storage apparatus 1 in the longitudinal direction can be reduced, and the storage apparatus 1 can be downsized.

The transfer device 4 horizontally rotates the FOUP90 received from the shelf 31 of one of the

storage units

3A and 3B by 180 degrees and delivers the FOUP to the shelf 31 of the other storage unit. As described above, by configuring the transfer device 4 in this manner, the distance between the FOUPs 90 placed on the shelves 31 adjacent in the vertical direction can be made relatively small. This can increase the storage density of the FOUPs 90 in the height direction of the

storage sections

The

storage units

3A and 3B have

load ports

32A and 32B, respectively, and the overhead traveling vehicle 10 that travels in a direction from the front side to the rear side (direction 1) and transports the FOUP90 can access the

load ports

32A and 32B. The load port of one of the

storage units

3A and 3B (in the present embodiment, the load port 32B of the storage unit 3B is taken as an example) includes a turntable 33 for horizontally rotating the FOUP90 placed on the load port 32B by 180 degrees. When the transfer device 4 transfers the FOUP90 from the shelf 31 of the storage section 3A to the shelf 31 of the storage section 3B, the orientation of the FOUP90 placed on the shelf 31 of the storage section 3A and the orientation of the FOUP90 placed on the shelf 31 of the storage section 3B are opposite to each other because the FOUP90 is horizontally rotated by 180 degrees. The same applies to the case where the transfer device 4 transfers the FOUP90 from the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3B to the shelf 31 of the storage unit 3A. On the other hand, the direction of the FOUP90 that can be transported by the overhead traveling vehicle 10 (the direction of the FOUP90 with respect to the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 10) is determined in advance. With the above configuration, by providing the turntable 33 in the loading port 32B of the storage section 3B, the orientation of the FOUP90 placed on the

loading ports

32A and 32B of the

storage sections

3A and 3B (that is, the orientation of the FOUP90 immediately after entering the warehouse and the orientation of the FOUP90 immediately before leaving the warehouse) can be made to coincide with the orientation in which the FOUP can be transported by the overhead traveling vehicle 10. As a result, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can use the

load ports

32A and 32B of either of the

storage sections

The transport system 100 includes the storage apparatus 1 and the overhead traveling vehicle 10, and the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can access at least one of the pair of

storage units

3A and 3B (in the present embodiment, both the

storage units

3A and 3B are used as an example) and transport the FOUP90 in the front-rear direction with the front surface of the FOUP90 facing in the left-right direction. In the transport system 100, for the above-described reasons, the overall length of the storage apparatus 1 in each of the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction can be reduced, and the storage apparatus 1 can be downsized. In the transport system 100, the FOUP90 transported by the bridge transport vehicle 10 and the FOUP90 placed in the

storage sections

3A and 3B are both in a state where the front surface of the FOUP90 faces the left-right direction. This eliminates the need for a mechanism or the like (for example, a mechanism or the like for horizontally rotating the FOUP90 placed on the

storage units

3A, 3B by 90 degrees) that is necessary when the traveling direction of the overhead traveling vehicle 10 is orthogonal to the direction in which the

storage units

3A, 3B face each other. Therefore, according to the transport system 100 in which the storage apparatus 1 and the overhead transport vehicle 10 are arranged as described above, the structure of the storage apparatus 1 can be simplified.

[ 2 nd embodiment ]

A storage apparatus 1A according to embodiment 2 will be described with reference to fig. 6. The storage apparatus 1A is different from the storage apparatus 1 mainly in that the storage section 3A is configured to be able to use the uppermost shelf in the 2 nd row from the left as the loading port 32C for loading or unloading the FOUP 90. In the storage apparatus 1A, the storage section 3A has two

loading ports

32A and 32C. The load port 32A and the load port 32C are provided at different height positions (positions in the vertical direction) and different horizontal positions (positions in the horizontal direction). Specifically, the load port 32C is located in a row on the right side of the upper stage of the load port 32A.

For example, in the storage apparatus 1A, the housing 2 is formed so as to be opened above and to the left of the FOUP90 placed on the uppermost shelf (load port 32C) of the 2 nd row from the left of the storage unit 3A. Specifically, the top plate 23 and the support column 24 are partially cut away. Thus, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 stopped above the load port 32A can access the load port 32C by so-called lateral transfer. Specifically, as shown in fig. 6, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 stopped above the load port 32A can transfer the FOUP90 to and from the load port 32C by moving the lifting mechanism 13 to the right by the horizontal movement mechanism 14 and lifting and lowering the gripping mechanism 11 by the lifting mechanism 13.

In this way, the housing section 3A has the following load port (1 st load port) 32A: the overhead traveling vehicle 10 moves the FOUP90 in the vertical direction at a position (predetermined stop position) above the load port 32A, thereby loading and unloading the FOUP 90. The housing portion 3A further includes a load port (2 nd load port) 32C: the overhead traveling vehicle 10 moves the FOUP90 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction at a position above the load port 32A, thereby loading and unloading the FOUP 90. With this configuration, the loading/unloading operation (i.e., the access to the load port 32A and the load port 32C) performed by the overhead traveling vehicle 10 stopped at the predetermined stop position can be executed as one continuous transfer operation. For example, the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can put the FOUP90 in one of the load port 32A and the load port 32C and then put the FOUP90 out of the other of the load port 32A and the load port 32C. As a result, the loading and unloading of the FOUP90 by the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can be smoothly performed, and the occurrence of a jam in the overhead traveling vehicle 10 can be suppressed. Further, the transport system 100A including the storage apparatus 1A and the overhead transport vehicle 10 can also exhibit the same effects as those of the transport system 100 described above.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the following can be considered: in the case where both the storage and the retrieval of the FOUP90 are performed in one or more loading ports provided in one storage section, and the storage and the retrieval of the FOUP90 are not performed in the other storage section (for example, in the case where two

loading ports

32A and 32C are provided in one storage section (the storage section 3A in the above example) as in embodiment 2). In this case, since there is no situation where the FOUP90 put in the load port of one storage unit is taken out from the load port of the other storage unit (or where the FOUP90 put in the load port of the other storage unit is taken out from the load port of one storage unit), it is not necessary to provide a turntable (swing mechanism) in one load port as in embodiment 1.

Further, a combination of the configurations of embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 described above may be employed. In this case, two

loading ports

32A and 32C are provided on one housing section (housing section 3A in the above example), and one loading port 32B is provided on the other housing section (housing section 3B in the above example).

The container transported by the transport system according to one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the FOUP90 that contains a plurality of semiconductor wafers, and may be another container that contains glass wafers, reticles, and the like. The transport system according to one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to a semiconductor manufacturing plant, and may be applied to other facilities.

Description of the symbols

1. 1A: storage apparatus, 2: frame, 3A, 3B: storage section, 4: transfer device, 10: overhead conveyer vehicle, 31A: shelf, 32A, 32B, 32C: load port, 33: turntable (swing mechanism), 90: FOUP (container), 100A: a delivery system.

Claims

1. A storage apparatus includes:

a pair of storage units disposed to face each other in a 1 st direction which is a horizontal direction, and having a plurality of racks for storing containers having a front-rear width smaller than a left-right width; and

a transfer device provided between the pair of storage units for transferring the container between the shelves of the pair of storage units,

in each of the pair of storage portions, the plurality of racks arranged at the same height position are arranged in a 2 nd direction which is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the 1 st direction,

the transfer device places the container on each of the plurality of shelves with the front surface of the container facing the 2 nd direction,

the pair of storage units each have a loading port accessible by a bridge conveyor that travels in the 1 st direction and conveys the container.

2. The storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the transfer device horizontally rotates the container received from the rack of one of the pair of storage units by 180 degrees, and transfers the container to the rack of the other of the pair of storage units.

3. The storage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,

the loading port of one of the storage units has a turning mechanism for horizontally turning the container placed in the loading port by 180 degrees.

4. The storage apparatus according to claim 3, wherein,

the loading port of one of the pair of storage sections is a loading port for storage,

the load port of the other of the pair of storage sections is a load port for unloading.

5. A storage apparatus as defined in claim 1 or 2,

at least one of the pair of receiving portions includes:

a 1 st loading port for loading or unloading the containers by moving the containers in a vertical direction at a predetermined stop position by a bridge conveyor for conveying the containers; and

and a 2 nd loading port for loading and unloading the containers by moving the containers in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction at the predetermined stop position by the bridge conveyor.

6. A delivery system, comprising:

a storage apparatus according to claim 1; and

the bridge-type conveying vehicle is characterized in that,

the overhead conveyer conveys the container in a state in which the front surface of the container faces the 2 nd direction.